Plenty of brands are celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of humankind’s biggest achievements: landing on the moon. Elysian Brewing is one of those brands and is commemorating the milestone by rebranding one of its flagship beers, Space Dust IPA, with three special-edition labels.
The labels are available now in select markets, including Washington, Florida and Texas, but only while supplies last.
The labels are driven by the Elysians proximity to Boeing Field and the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The museum approached the brand’s director of partnerships to help celebrate and Elysian “jumped at the chance,” according to Nick Mallory, Elysian director of marketing.
“After a few meetings with the entire in-house marketing team, it became apparent that doing some sort of commemorative label would be cool, and of course, it offered up a natural tie-in to our Space Dust IPA,” Mallory said. “Since there were three astronauts in the Apollo 11 mission, and we have three in-house designers at Elysian, it made sense to have all three of them collaborate on the design of the label. The result was an amazing, creative collaboration reflective of the spirit and aesthetic of the time.”
Three separate labels were released this month celebrating the lift-off, landing, and return of Apollo 11 in 1969.
“This project was a collaborative effort between Elysian’s in-house design team with each artist illustrating a bottle in tribute to the different phases of Apollo 11’s voyage from the viewpoint of those watching at home,” said Amy England, Elysian senior graphic designer. “To reflect the three astronauts, three of our designers put together a label to represent each phase of the journey, lift-off, landing, and return. Each label takes inspiration from the design style and colors in vogue at the time.”
Space Dust will be pouring at the Museum of Flights Lunar Block Party July 19-21, just 10 minutes from the Elysian’s taproom. Likewise, the three labels will be showcased across Seattle retailers along with special commemorative labels by Jones Soda and Seattle Chocolate.
The brewery also felt a strong connection to space exploration, as Mallory said the brewer like to push boundaries on beers others say can’t be done. Elysian did consider making a special brew for the event, but the natural tie-in with Space Dust was too natural to pass up, Mallory said.
“Additionally since Space Dust is a top craft IPA in many markets, we knew we could take our moon landing commemoration on the road and shred with other Elysian fans in select markets,” he said.
Elysian is one of AB-InBev’s craft brands, acquired in 2015. AB-InBev’s flagship brand, Budweiser, is also celebrating the historic moon landing with a special beer of its own, the Discovery Reserve American Red Lager.
“This Bud’s for those who challenged the odds and made the impossible, possible,” said Ricardo Marques, Anheuser-Busch vice president of marketing core & value brands. “Budweiser Discovery Reserve is our tribute to this epic moment in history, one that will certainly continue to inspire generations of present and future explorers.”
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